Updated on
Summary A gunman killed two American military advisers inside heavily guarded government building in Kabul.
A gunman killed two American military advisers inside a heavily guarded government building in the heart of Kabul Saturday as protests over the burning of the Muslim holy book at a U.S. base raged across the country for a fifth day.The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was retaliation for the Quran burnings, and the NATO commander recalled all international military personnel working in Afghan ministries in the capital.The two advisers were shot in the back of the head, according to two Western officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose the information.U.S. officials said the assailant remained at large and a manhunt was under way.An apology from President Barack Obama has failed to quell public outrage over what NATO insisted was an accidental desecration of the Quran. At least 28 people have been killed and hundreds wounded since Tuesday, when it first emerged that Qurans and other religious materials had been thrown into a fire pit used to burn garbage at Bagram Air Field, a large U.S. base north of Kabul.Among those dead were two U.S. soldiers who were killed Thursday by one of their Afghan counterparts while a riot raged outside their base in the eastern province of Nangarhar.Gen. John Allen, the commander of NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said he recalled all NATO personnel from the ministries for obvious force protection reasons but the alliance remains committed to its partnership with the Afghan government.He said NATO is investigating Saturdays shooting and will pursue all leads to find the person responsible for the attack.The perpetrator of this attack is a coward whose actions will not go unanswered, Allen said.NATO forces have advisers embedded in many Afghan ministries, both as trainers and to help manage the transition to Afghan control and foreign forces prepare to withdraw by the end of 2014. The Afghan Interior Ministry oversees all of the countrys police, so has numerous NATO advisers.
